JOBS. A fictional story about achieving ambitious goals

I’ve always wanted to work in a bank. I’ve done all sorts of jobs, but working in a bank was always what I wanted to do. What can you do? I’m convinced that’s where you make the most money, and the evidence speaks for itself; just ask around.

My first job was at a petrol station when I was just sixteen. It was straightforward work, but the truth is it didn’t bring in much. Too much effort for too little cash. So I thought it was time to aim higher and set myself a bigger goal; my dreams didn’t come cheap.

When I was young, I thought you had to earn quite a lot in places where there was a lot of money changing hands, so I decided my next job would be in a supermarket. Why not? They sell a lot there and, according to my youthful reasoning, I’d earn more too. I prepared thoroughly to make sure I didn’t fail, and I did it: I got a job at the biggest hypermarket in my city. Quite an achievement, and I was only seventeen. Who’d have thought it? A few months later, just after I came of age, I was finally able to buy myself a car.

But my plans for the future were even more expensive, and I’ve always been restless, so I wasn’t content to stop there.

It was time to stand out a little more. But working in a bank — what I really wanted to do — required a lot more training, so I decided the small jeweller’s in the northern part of town would be my next step. As a child, I walked past it every day on my way to school and was fascinated by the watches in the window. I really liked the digital ones they had back then, those wonderful things you can’t find any more. I remember one day my mother took me to that jeweller’s to have the gold chain I’d been given for my First Communion adjusted. I watched the jeweller at work; he was precise and careful. I was genuinely impressed by how easily he did everything, and also by how expensive it was. So, following my rule for life: it’s better to work where the most money changes hands. Yes, yes… I know, there’s more money in a bank, but I wasn’t qualified enough yet for a job of that calibre. If I did well at the jeweller’s, surely it would give me the training I needed to aim for a job at the bank.

The jeweller’s worked out well; all I had to do was earn the owner’s trust, and I got in without too much trouble. In a way, it took quite a while, because I had to study hard to prepare myself for the bank, my golden dream. But I really enjoyed working at the jeweller’s, and I think it toughened me up and gave me invaluable experience… Well, ‘invaluable’ is just a figure of speech, because I won’t lift a finger without money changing hands. I’ve already said I have expensive ambitions, and they have to be paid for somehow.

Time passed, and the moment arrived. I was as ready as anyone to get into the bank; nothing could stop me now. I studied, and how I studied! I studied everything; I don’t think there was anything left to study, not a thing. Anyway, I suppose that when you prepare thoroughly for something, you’re not likely to fail. Good students say that when you’re truly prepared for an exam, and you’ve really crammed properly, nerves are unlikely to let you down. I’d practised a lot, so I had nothing to fear.

Everything was at stake that day and, knowing it, I left home early. I had it all in my head, but I wanted to arrive as soon as they opened and be the first one in; that gave me confidence and a sense of security. By the time everyone else arrived, I’d be ready and focused. So there I was at the door by eight, and I went in at the same time as the staff. They hadn’t opened to the public, but they didn’t make much of a fuss when I showed them my new Astra A-50. I went in with them and asked who I should speak to, to avoid wasting time. They told me the director was in charge of everything and hadn’t arrived yet. I sat with them for ten minutes; that’s how long it took Emilio, as he was called, to arrive. He was surprised to see us all sitting there so calmly.

“Hello, Mr Emilio. I’ve been waiting for you… Well, actually, we’ve all been waiting for you, because your colleagues here are a little worried about the situation.”

I pointed the gun at his head and warned him that we needed to have everything sorted within fifteen minutes; if he co-operated, everything would be fine and nobody would get hurt, but if he didn’t…

What I said when I was young: the bank is where the most money is, and that’s where I managed to finance my dream. That was my last little job. It went as planned (I’d studied the situation carefully, after all), and now, from this sunny corner of the world, with the most exquisite beachside cocktail, I enjoy the little luxuries I so richly deserve.